"One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." John 9:25 What are you blind to? A man is healed of his blindness by Jesus on the Sabbath, which broke a major religious law. The Pharisees, those who were supposedly enlightened, criticize Jesus and try to discredit him, instead of glorifying God for the miracle that has just happened. They can't see the forest for the trees. So who is really blind here? Sometimes we can think we are so right about something and miss the blessing underneath. We can be quick to judge and criticize, and when we do, our sight becomes dimmer and duller. If we persist, we become blind. We are all blind to something. We need the eyes of Jesus to see. When we do, we will see the amazing grace of God and will be healed of our own blindness.

*If you would like to receive messages like this in text form from Fr. Jeff every week, text "Add me" to

Thanks to your generosity & participation, so far we have collected $468.00

The collections will continue through Lent.

Mary's Meals Envelopes are in the Narthex.

Every $20 we receive will feed one child for a year!

Stories from 40acts

"To answer before listening - that is folly and shame"

Proverbs 18:13

Yesterday, I visited with someone I have never met before. I sat on the front porch and listened for 3 hours to a very active elderly man as he told me the story of his life.

He spent his career as an over-the-road truck driver, often being away from home for 2 weeks at a time.

He gave grateful praise to his family for their tolerance of his lifestyle.

He described in great detail his spiritual journey, his church life, and his honest and generous nature. He spoke candidly about his health conditions, painful arthritis, and beating prostate cancer.

He admitted his great love of sweets after meals (he offered me peach cobbler to accompany the glass of sweet tea I was drinking). He has never been a smoker or a drinker. He has been married to his first wife for 50+ years.

He told me his views on the deplorable state of our world political stage with the gaping holes in the floor. He went into great detail to describe why he thinks mankind is in its End Times and the coming of the Rapture. He is experienced, intelligent, thoughtful, considerate; highly unusual qualities these days.

Then my wife called me for dinner, and I had to go back to reality. But in those three hours I gave him an attentive ear and developed a powerful bond with my new trucker friend. I am blessed for knowing him.

- Chris Butzon

Do you have a story of your experience with 40acts this Lent? Send it to us!

Episcopal 101 Class

For those with questions about the Episcopal Church, those who are seeking membership, or those who just need a refresher, Episcopal 101 is a safe place to explore your faith.

An opportunity to worship at historic Zion Church, built as an Episcopal church in the 1840s, will be offered at
4 p.m.Sunday, April 30th, in Talbotton.

On the N
ational Register of Historic Places, Zion's building has been spared modernization.

It is a rare Gothic American parish church constructed of old growth timber.

Assisting Bishop Don Wimberly of the Diocese of Atlanta will be the celebrant and preacher.

Several people will be confirmed or received.

A reception will follow the service and there will be an opportunity to have a guided tour and hear the rich history of the church.

Zion Church is located at 100 Main Street in Talbotton on U.S. 80.

Contact Father Jeff Jackson at (706) 761-0115 for further information.

Non-perishable food will be collected for Talbotton families in need.

All are welcomed - Invite a friend.

Congratulations!

Jeana Smith

for your Letter of Transfer into St. Nicholas!

Congratulations

and

Welcome to St. Nicholas

Helen Varner Manderson was confirmed at Zion Episcopal on Sunday, March 19th, and has joined our St. Nicholas Family!

Everyone is invited to come on April 7th at 11:00 to make palm crosses for Palm Sunday.

We will meet at the church.

Light lunch will follow.

:

Palm Sunday Readings

If there are any readers in the congregation who would like to help make our Palm Sunday service with reading of the Passion Narrative on April 9th at 8:30am or 11:00 even more special, please contact Father Jeff. If you would like to participate, please let us know and Father Jeff will contact you

Ashley Taylor. Kathy and Ashley lead our youngest members in the SNICK, Jr. class on Wednesday nights.

Kathy and Ashley are here every week making sure that SNICK runs well. In addition to leading the class, they are also helping behind the scenes, helping to prepare meals and serve them to the children, helping to set up or take down something, arranging costumes for the Christmas pageant, and much more.

They give their time so generously and we are so grateful for their ministry at St. Nicholas.

If you or family members will be in a play, concert, sports or school activity please send the information to the church contact@stnicholashamilton.org to be printed in the newsletter. St Nicholas members can then know what is happening with their church family and perhaps attend some of the functions. Include the event with dates, times and location. This is for children, teens and adults.

Please help us keep the church directory as up-to-date as possible.

If you have not yet filled out a form, please pick one up in the cloister room and return to the church office. Or you can send your info via email to the Parish Administrator atcontact@stnicholashamilton.org

Please include:your names and the names of your minor children,

address,

email addresses,

phone numbers (cell and home),

birthdays and anniversaries.

If you need a new picture or a new name tag, indicate that as well. Feel free to use a favorite picture. Just send it in jpeg form to contact@stnicholashamilton.org.

Mobile App Installation Instructions

Church members can view the St. Nicholas Church Directory from their iPhone, iPad, Android or Kindle Fire by downloading the free Instant Church Directory Members App.

You may search for "Instant Church Directory" in the Apple App Store, Google Play, or Amazon Appstore, or use this link:

After installation, open the Instant Church Directory icon (it looks like a church). It will ask for your email address. If your email address is in our church directory, the program will generate a password for you and email it to you.

This worked great for most, but if you have any problems make sure you first check to see that your email address is in the church directory.

Please look for these cards in the narthex or in the pews and place them in the alms basin if you give electronically.

Father Jeff will bless them at each service along with the other offerings.

is a 5 part series designed to explore ways to increase our capacity for happiness and joy in our present lifestyles. Through discussion and learning specific techniques, along with mindfulness and mediation practice, an increase in happiness, health and wellbeing will result. Drawing heavily on Native American spiritual practices and belief systems each individual will develop a healthy relationship with their bodies, minds and spirits. Many other spiritual traditions will be incorporated to emphasize that harmony in diversity is an essential part of the pathway to happiness.

Monday April 3 from 6:00pm to 8pm

Walk in Joy:

This workshop will focus on our understanding of the purpose of life, more specifically each participants' unique life perspective. Then viewing ourselves from the perspective of a loving creator, we will redefine or reaffirm our life purpose and to find our Joy. The Divine is expressed through that which brings us Joy. When Joy slips away, our attention is usually focused on non-essential distracting issues. Increased awareness through meditation helps us to connect to the Divine within and the Joy that follows.

Monday April 10 from 6:00pm to 8pm

Walk in Balance:

This workshop will focus on bringing it all together and learning to live in a balanced way. We will explore how extremes of any kind disrupt our natural rhythms and how a lack of compassion for self creates unhappiness. We will become skilled at walking on the high wire with grace and confidence, knowing that each challenge we face only increases our skills and allows us to go higher. We will focus on developing our inner guidance systems essential for happiness to flow in our lives on a daily basis.

Workshops to be held at : 1443 17th Street, Columbus Georgia 31901.

For information and to register call 703-317-2163. Individual workshop fee is $20.00.

Calling all artists, DIY-enthusiasts, yard-sale fanatics, collectors of cool things: The Chattahoochee Valley Episcopal Ministry needs your expertise and your chairs for its CHAIRity for CVEM. CHAIRity is held on May 21 from Noon to 6 p.m. at Arts in the Park in Lakebottom Park. CHAIRity features one-of-a-kind chairs donated, created, or repurposed by local artists and friends of CVEM and proceeds benefit our neighbors in need in the Chattahoochee Valley region. There are no real rules for chairs: It can be a chair you decorate, repurpose, create or just something unique you've collected through the years. We are also looking for chairs that others may use to decorate. If you would like to donate a chair, please contact us at info@cvemjubilee.org or call 706.327.0400.